Purpose
Befriends the floor, the most important partner in CI. Teaches the sequential giving of weight and rehearses lowering the body safely — the root of all falling and rolling.
Setup
Space per person to lie down. Slow music.
Play
- Standing, "find one place in your body that's holding — soften it."
- "Slowly, over the next few minutes, give your weight to the floor — one body part at a time. There's no rush. Let the floor take you."
- Guide the descent: knees → hip → ribs → shoulders → head, sequentially, never a collapse.
- On the floor: "Let the floor hold all of you. Where are you still holding weight off it?"
- Slowly reverse: rise sequentially back to standing.
Cues
"The floor is completely reliable. It will never drop you." · "One part at a time." · "Give a little more."
Variations
- Easier: just lie down and rest; feel contact points with the floor.
- Harder: descend and rise via a spiral, discovering how the body naturally rotates.
Debrief
"Where is it easy to give your weight? Where is it hard?" (This preview which body areas will trust a partner.)
Watch For
Watch knees on the way down — offer a hand-to-floor path. This is where you first teach "give weight sequentially, don't collapse."